The quick answer
For tasks scheduled As Soon As Possible, NetSuite works out the dates from the project's start, each task's work, its predecessors and the resources' work calendars. In this example the work is entered on each task's Assignees row, and Units is the share of the resource's working time given to the task. A Finish-To-Start (FS) line on the Predecessors subtab schedules the task after its predecessor finishes. Change the work on an early task and save it, and NetSuite recalculates the tasks that depend on it, the project's Calculated End Date and the Gantt chart. In this example, raising the first task from 16 to 32 hours moves the next two tasks and pushes the project end from 11/13/2026 to 11/17/2026 without anyone editing them.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and company names are fictional.
Before you start
You need the Project Management feature, a role that can create and edit project tasks, and a saved project. Tasks are added from the project's Schedule subtab, which only appears once the project exists. Each person you assign has to be marked as a project resource, and the work calendar on their employee record drives the dates. This example assumes an 8-hour, Monday-to-Friday calendar for everyone, no time off and no holidays. The service item on the assignment should be a service item priced in hours. If Resource Allocations is enabled and your account requires it, allocate the resource to the project before you assign them to a task.
The example starts before anyone has entered time. Once actual time comes in, it can change planned and remaining work, so a live project may not move exactly like this one.
The form here uses the Planned Work feature, so the work fields are labeled Planned Work. Without that feature, the same fields say Estimated Work. Which fields and columns you see also depends on your form and role.
In the example, Alex Morgan at Example Supply Co. manages PRJ0418 Lobby Renovation for Brightwater Clinic. The project has no tasks yet. Three people will do the work: Owen Pratt surveys the site, Lena Ortiz handles demolition, and Marco Silva does the drywall and paint.
01. Open the project's schedule
Open the project. Under Project Dates, Scheduling Method is Forward and Start Date is 11/02/2026. Forward scheduling means the first task starts on the project start date and everything else is worked out from there. Select the Schedule subtab. Project Tasks / Milestones is empty.
02. Create the first task and assign it
Click New Project Task. The Project Task / Milestone form opens over the project with Project Name already filled in. Enter Site Survey in Name and leave Constraint Type on As Soon As Possible, so NetSuite works out the dates.
Open the Assignees subtab. Pick Owen Pratt in Resource, keep Units at 100.0%, pick Renovation Labor in Service Item, enter 16 in Planned Work and 55.00 in Unit Cost, then click Add. The task's own Planned Work now shows 16, the total of its assignment rows.
Units is the share of Owen's available working time that goes to this task. It isn't a completion percentage. At 100% of an 8-hour day, 16 hours takes two working days, so after you click Save the task list shows Site Survey from 11/02/2026 to 11/03/2026.
03. Add a task that waits for the first
Click New Project Task again and enter Demolition. On Assignees, add Lena Ortiz at 100.0% with Renovation Labor, 24 hours and a Unit Cost of 48.00.
Then open Predecessors. Pick Site Survey in Task, keep Type as Finish-To-Start (FS), leave Lag Time empty and click Add. The line shows Site Survey's current start and end dates, which is a handy check that you linked the right task.
Save it. Demolition shows 1 in Predecessors, which is Site Survey's task ID, and runs from 11/04/2026 to 11/06/2026: it starts the working day after Site Survey ends.
04. Add the third task and read the end date
Create Drywall and Paint the same way: Marco Silva at 100.0%, Renovation Labor, 40 hours, Unit Cost 52.00, and Demolition as a Finish-To-Start (FS) predecessor. After you save, it shows predecessor 2 and runs from 11/09/2026 to 11/13/2026. Demolition ends on a Friday, so Drywall and Paint starts the next Monday.
Scroll up to the project header. Calculated Work is 80:00, which is 16 + 24 + 40 hours, and Calculated End Date is 11/13/2026.
05. Change the first task's work
Say the survey turns out to need twice as long. Click Edit beside Site Survey, open Assignees, click Owen Pratt's Planned Work, change 16 to 32 and click OK. The task's Planned Work shows 32. Click Save.
Back on the Schedule subtab, Site Survey now runs 11/02/2026 to 11/05/2026. Demolition moved to 11/06/2026 to 11/10/2026, and Drywall and Paint moved to 11/11/2026 to 11/17/2026. Nobody edited those two tasks; they moved because each one waits for the task before it.
The header now shows Calculated Work 96:00 and Calculated End Date 11/17/2026. Sixteen more hours on the first task added two working days to the end of the project. If your account recalculates the project plan in the background, the old dates can show for a little while. Wait, then refresh or reopen the project. If the dates still haven't moved, check the task's constraints, the resources' calendars and any allocations.
06. Read the Gantt chart
Click View Gantt Chart. The Tasks grid repeats the plan: Site Survey at 32 Hours, Demolition at 24 Hours after task 1, and Drywall and Paint at 40 Hours after task 2, with the same start and end dates. On the right, each task is a bar. In this view the bar is labeled with its resource, and a connector runs from the end of one bar to the start of the next. The last bar ends on 11/17/2026.
The bars show the calculated plan. The toolbar's highlight and filter options, and the colors you see, depend on your account and view, so read them from the chart itself rather than assuming a fixed meaning.
Common questions
Why did other task dates change when I edited one task?
Because they depend on it. Demolition waits for Site Survey and Drywall and Paint waits for Demolition, so when Site Survey went from 16 to 32 hours, NetSuite recalculated both of them. Nobody touched their dates, and the project end moved from 11/13/2026 to 11/17/2026.
What does Units mean on a project task assignee?
It's the share of the resource's available working time that goes to the task. At 100% on an 8-hour day, 16 hours takes two working days. At 50%, the same 16 hours would spread over four. It isn't a completion percentage.
Why does the next task start the working day after the predecessor ends?
That's what Finish-To-Start means: the successor is scheduled after the predecessor's calculated finish. With an 8-hour, Monday-to-Friday calendar, Site Survey finishes at the end of 11/03/2026, so Demolition starts on 11/04/2026. When a predecessor ends on a Friday, the successor starts on Monday.
Can I add a delay between two tasks?
The Predecessors line has a Lag Time column for that. This walkthrough leaves it empty, so it doesn't show how a lag changes the dates. Check the result on the task list after you save.
Why was my task saved as a milestone?
A task saved with no work, no assignees and no Finish No Later Than date is created as a milestone, and a milestone can't carry work or assignees. Give the task an assignee with planned work and it schedules like the tasks in this example. Some accounts ask you to confirm before saving a milestone.
Why don't my task dates update right away?
Some accounts recalculate the project plan in the background, so the old dates can show for a little while after you save. Wait, then refresh or reopen the project. If they still haven't moved, check the task's constraints, the resources' work calendars and any resource allocations.